Russia must compensate the Netherlands for breaching an international treaty regulating the laws of the sea by seizing a Greenpeace ship protesting at an oil platform in Arctic waters, an international arbitration panel has announced.

Russia must compensate the Netherlands for breaching an international treaty regulating the laws of the sea by seizing a Greenpeace ship protesting at an oil platform in Arctic waters, an international arbitration panel has announced.

The Arctic Sunrise, sailing under a Dutch flag, was seized by Russian authorities in September 2013 during a protest against an offshore oil platform, and the 30 people on board were arrested and detained in Russian prisons for months. They were eventually released shortly before the Sochi Olympics.

The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration said the amount of compensation to be paid by Russia will be decided at a later date.